A New World
by Charmeleon
Summary: Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh. Here's the awaited sequel to Stranded. Yugi shows Yami how things go in the Philippines. Fuller summary inside.
1. A New Gym Teacher

Here's the sequel to Stranded that you've been waiting for. For a while, I couldn't get my thoughts straight. But two days ago, I finally got them together and wrote the first chapter. Yugi has spent two years on the island. Ater coming home, Yami became a part of the family. Now Yami will learn how life goes on in the Philippines. This fic is an AU in two ways; first it's doesn't take place in Japan, and second, I've chosen to make the Philippine culture more like the American culture since American is mostly what I know. I hope that this is okay with all of you.  
' is thoughts  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 1: A New Gym Teacher  
  
Yugi had been stranded on an island for two years. He really never felt stranded because he lived there with Yami. Yugi found out that Yami saved him when he was eight. They experienced many wondrous things on the island and got out of quite a few dangers as well. Now Yami is living with Yugi and his grandfather. He has been there for a couple of months and has become Yugi's for real brother.  
"Yugi, what are you doing?" Yami asked.  
"I'm getting my school supplies ready. The first day of my freshman year of high school starts tomorrow. If not for being on that island, I would've been a junior now, not a freshman," Yugi responded.  
"Is school something that all the people here do?" Yami asked.  
"Yes. School is a part of our culture here. America has been very generous to us here in the Philippines. When some of the American political leaders came here, they brought pictures of some of the things that go on in America. What we saw really amazed and influenced us to do things like they do. As payment for their help, we send them some of our harvest, and they help us with our financial status, education, medicine, etc," Yugi responded.  
"Would it be any trouble if I joined you?" Yami asked.  
"I don't think it would be any trouble at all," Yugi responded. He finished getting his school stuff ready, and got in the bed. "You can join me if you want," he said.  
Yami nodded and got into the bed with Yugi. They fell asleep together. One thing about where Yugi lived is that it was always peaceful at night. The only noises came from the birds or when a storm hit the area. Yami liked how peaceful things were. It reminded him of how New Atlantis was before his father died.   
The next morning, the sunlight through the curtain across the window awakened Yugi and Yami. Yugi got showered and dressed before having a simple breakfast. Breakfast can't get any simpler than bacon, eggs and toast. Afterwards, he and Yami left for school. It was a thirty-minute walk to the school. They went in and took seats in Yugi's first period, which was science. The class began at 8am sharp.  
"Hey, aren't those the two that were on that island?" one of the students asked.  
"They look like brothers," another student said.  
"Yami is my brother now," Yugi said.  
"Settle down class. The lesson for today is aquatics. Aquatics are what you would associate with under the waters of the world. Things like marine life, underwater experiments, and so much more," the teacher said.  
"I should know; I lived underwater," Yami said.  
The whole class except Yugi gasped in total shock. "You lived underwater?" everyone except Yugi asked.  
"Yes I did," Yami responded.  
"Would you tell us about it?" the teacher asked.  
"I would love to," Yami responded as he went to the front of the class. "For the most part, things were peaceful where I lived. I came from the underwater city of New Atlantis, a city of gold and silver. I was the prince of the merfolk who lived there. My father was a benevolent ruler, and the people loved him for the respect and love he showed for them.  
I was the odd ball in my family because of my hair. My brother Erick would always pick on me about that. About two months after I turned twelve years old, my father died of a mysterious illness, and my older brother took the throne. Things were far from peaceful during his reign. He was ruthless and killed anyone who opposed him. Just saying an opposition meant death if Erick heard it. He also despised the human race. He almost killed Yugi a few times. He ended his reign by going through a tree branch on the island that Yugi and I were on," he added.  
A student raised his hand.  
"What is your question?" Yami asked.  
"First, my name is Alexander. How could you also become human, and how long were you and Yugi on that island?" the student asked.  
"I could become human because I was trained to be a mage. I trained from my 12th year to my 14th year and became the most powerful of the city. Yugi was on the island for two years, and I was on it for eight," Yami responded.  
"How did you get on the island in the first place? Yugi, that question is also for you," the teacher said.  
"I got on the island because I was banished. As I went for my daily swim, I noticed a boat. I surfaced and saw three people on the shore. I hid behind the boat so they wouldn't see me. I heard a child's voice coming from the boat. I looked up to see that the child was playing dangerously close to the edge. The child fell in a few seconds later. I saw that the three people were very worried and fearful when they heard the splash. I could tell then that they were looking for the child. I dove down beneath the water and rescued the child. After going onshore and waiting for my fin to change, I walked over to the people. I found out that they were the child's parents and grandparent, and that Yugi was the child.  
On my way back to New Atlantis, my counselors were very worried about what would happen if my brother found out that I saved a human. They were happy that Yugi was all right though. I didn't know that Erick followed me and saw what happened. He threatened to kill everyone who wanted to overthrow his rule and have me as king if I didn't leave and never come back. I vowed that I wouldn't return so I was banished. I came to the island and spent my life there," Yami responded.  
"I had a much rougher entrance to the island. One day when I was going on a fishing job with my grandpa, we ran into a hurricane. The waves threw me overboard and pushed me to the island. Upon arriving, I was thrown hard onto one of the jagged rocks. The impact broke my pelvis, but I slowly and painfully crawled into a nearby cave," Yugi responded.  
The entire class period was a retelling of how Yugi and Yami survived on the island instead of what the lesson for the day was. Forty-five minutes later, the bell rung, and the students went their separate ways. On the way to Yugi's next class, Yugi and Yami overheard that the gym teacher had resigned because his family had moved too far away from the school.  
"You could be the gym teacher," Yugi suggested.  
"That's not a bad idea Yugi. I'll go see about it right now," Yami said as Yugi went on to his next class. He went to the principal's office to ask about becoming the new gym teacher.  
"Well Yami, what can you do?" the principal asked.  
"Oh I can do quite a few things Mr. Simms," Yami responded as he told the principal some of the things he could do.  
"That is quite a lot. The gym session at this school will be perfect for someone like you to teach," Mr. Simms said. "You start today. The session is at the back of the school. You don't have to rush. Gym doesn't start for another two hours. Take that time to look around and decide what you're going to do."  
Yami nodded and went to the back of the school. In his opinion, what he saw was nothing short of amazing. The area was large and had quite a few things to do. There was a rockwall for climbing, a large pool for swimming, a volleyball court, a baseball/softball field, a basketball court, a soccer field and equipment that people use for sit-ups, pushups and other exercises.  
'Well, I know not to have Yugi in the swimming pool since he can't swim. He would probably to very well at the rock wall and fair at the volleyball field,' Yami thought.  
The two hours went by quickly, and it was soon time for gym. Yugi and a group of nineteen other students go to the back of the school to find a surprise. Yami was waiting for them.  
"Good morning students. I will be your new gym teacher," Yami said. "You guys have a very impressive area back here I must say. Go get changed in the locker rooms, and we'll get started."  
The students went into the locker room and got changed. Some of the students decided to push Yugi into the swimming pool. They all thought that it would be a great joke. What they didn't know ws that their joke could kill Yugi. The students came out and lined up in two straight lines.  
"Now to keep track of when you're here, I will call roll every gym session. Say 'here' when I call you," Yami said as he went down the roll sheet.  
All the students were present and accounted for today. Besides Yugi, the students in Yami's class for the fourth period were Amy and Bill Johnson, Tanya Black, Robert, Jim and Johnny Smith, Alexander and Jill Martin. Bobby Summers, Chris and Heather Grace. Maria and Jose Dominguez, Don and Wanda Roberts, Samantha Rose, Lily Baker and Nancy and Catherine Williams. The class began with introducing themselves, stretching and a few warm-up exercises. That went on for the first ten minutes of the hour's worth of gym. Then the class went over to the rock wall.  
"Each of you will climb that wall. You don't have to rush. I just want to see where you stand as far as upper body strength and endurance. I don't want to hear anyone say that they can't do it. Give it your best shot. If you don't make it to the top, don't worry. We'll work on this each session to improve your endurance and upper body strength," Yami said.  
Yugi decided to go first. He was harnessed up and started climbing the wall. The other students were amazed. Yugi climbed the rock wall with no trouble at all. He reached the top of the twenty-five foot wall within a few minutes and let go. The harness gave him a safe ride down.  
"How did you climb that wall so fast?" Amy asked.  
"Climbing that wall was like climbing a tree to me. While on the island, Yami taught me how to climb things," Yugi responded.  
Amy went next. She had a little trouble in the middle, but she also made it to the top.  
"Very good Amy. We'll have to work on the middle part a little more," Yami said.  
The wall was wide enough for five students to climb at once. Twenty minutes later, everyone gave his/her best attempt at the rock wall. Some of them had little to no trouble at the wall, but most of them only made it to the middle before losing their grip and sliding down on the harness.  
"Some of you don't need much help seeing that yo made it to the top. The rest of you gave a good effort and will need more help. Don't feel singled out; you'll get better the more you do it. Hopefully, we'll get to the point where you guys will be able to successfully climb the wall without the harnesses. Even there, you won't have to worry about falling. If you make if to the top or fall when we start doing it with no harness, I will use my powers to help you down safely," Yami said.  
Then the students headed for the swimming pool. Yugi just sat next to it.  
"Just about all of you know how to swim right?" Yami asked.  
The students nodded. Yugi didn't nod or shake his head as he just sat by the pool.  
"There are quite a few swimming strokes, but we'll only do two of them this year. Those two strokes are the breast stroke and the backstroke," Yami said. He dove into the water and prepared to show them the backstroke.  
The students were still amazed when they saw his tail. His tail looked like an Orca's. Yami floated above the water and swam face up in the water. He paddled with his arms even though he didn't have to because of his fin.  
"This is how you do the backstroke. Even though I'm paddling with my arms, I don't have to because I use my tail to get around. You wil have to use your arms because your arms are what directs you where you want to go since you're human all the time. It also gives you balance," Yami said.  
Robert, Jim and Tanya got behind Yugi and pushed him in. Yugi didn't notice them behind him because he was looking at Yami. Yami heard the splash and saw Yugi start to sink under the water. Yami dove under and rescued Yugi. Then Yugi was put back on the edge of the pool where he spent a few moments coughing up water.  
"Are you all right Yugi?" Yami asked.  
"I am now," Yugi responded. "Who pushed me in?" he added.  
"We did. We're sorry," Robert Jim and Tanya responded sadly.  
"It's all right, but don't do that again. Yugi sat next to the pool because he doesn't know how to swim. I tried to teach him when we were on the island, but he somehow couldn't get the hang of it," Yami said.  
"We won't do it again," Tanya said.  
The other students nodded. They would not try a stunt like that on Yugi again after learning that it could've killed him.  
"There is enough room for six people to be in at once for what I want you to do. Only doing the backstroke, I want you to swim to the other side and back as fast as you can. Since Yugi is the only one who can't swim, there will be three races of five people and one race of four. I'll be in here to help you get started. The winners of those races will face off one final time to determine the one winner," Yami said. "Now, get into your swimsuits everyone."  
The students had put their swimsuits under their gym clothes in anticipation of having to get in the pool so they only removed their gym clothing. Yugi just sat with his back to a nearby tree. Amy, Robert, Tanya, Bill and Jim got in the water first and put on their goggles. Yami helped them get into position. All they needed was the little help to get them floating above water.  
"Are you guys ready?" Yami asked.  
"Yes," the five students responded.  
"Well then get ready, get set and go," Yami said.  
The five students swam to the other side of the pool. They were pretty evenly matched the whole way. When they started on the return, Tanya used a little burst of speed to take the lead. She won the first match.  
"Nicely done Tanya. The same goes for all of you. I was quite impressed. Take a rest while the other students do their races," Yami said.  
The other fourteen students raced within five minutes time. The winners from those races were Jose, Maria, Chris and Lily. Tanya joined them for the final race to decide the winner for today. They rested for five minutes before getting in position for the final race.  
"The final race will be a little different. Instead of doing two laps, you five will do four. The first one back at the starting point wins. On your mark, get set, go," Yami said.  
The five finalists swam off as fast as they could. A few minutes later, Chris was the winner of the race.  
"A great effort by all five of you. Congratulations Chris, you're today's winner of the pool. Everyone did very well. Don't worry; you might be winners of future races. I'm sorry that you couldn't join us Yugi," Yami said.  
"It's all right Yami. I loved watching you guys. All of you were truly awesome," Yugi said.  
Yami looked at his watch. Yugi had given it to him and shown him how to use it when they got back to the house.  
"It's 11:25am everyone. We will try to stop at this time every session for you to have twenty minutes of free time. You can do whatever you want in this area," Yami said.  
"Yay!" all the students happily shouted. They went off to have their fun. They all went to the volleyball field.  
Yugi and Amy were the referees while everyone else got on teams of 9. It was Heather, Alexander, Catherine, Maria, Jill, Bill, Wanda, Robert and Samantha vs. Bobby, Chris, Don, Jim, Jonnhy, Jose, Lily, Nancy and Tanya. Heather and Bobby were the team captains. It was an even match. The game went back and forth as far as points. Bobby's team won just as the bell rang.  
"That's our session for today everyone. The principal also told me that gym is the last session for you guys. I'm happy to say that this is the only period I have. So if you want me to help you out with anything, just stay after class, and I'll be more than happy to help you," Yami said.  
Tanya and Yugi stayed behind as the others went to their parents. Yugi waited for Yami, and Tanya wanted a little help with the rock wall. She was one of the people who fell at the middle.  
"What can I help you with Tanya?" Yami asked.  
"Could you help me with the rock wall?" she responded.  
"Sure, let's go over there," Yami responded.   
They went over to the rock wall, and Tanya got harnessed up. Yugi decided to join them and got harnessed up as well.  
"Now, we'll climb slowly. That way, I can see what you're doing wrong," Yami said.  
Tanya nodded, and the three of them started climbing. Yami climbed the wall very well without a harness. When they got to the middle, Tanya was all stretched out. She watched Yami fly off the mountain and come up behind her.  
"You can fly?" she asked.  
"Yes I can," Yami responded. "I see where you went wrong. Make sure you have a firm grip because I'm going to readjust your feet," he added. He put her feet on the rocks closer to her arms. "Don't stay all stretched out. That's why you didn't make it to the top. Always keep your legs as close to your body as you can. That way, you can push yourself up which is a lot easier than pulling yourself up. That's what Yugi is doing. He's pushing himself up," he added.  
Tanya nodded and continued up the wall. With Yami's help, she easily made it to the top of the wall. She let do and slid on the harness. Yugi did the same, and Yami landed on the ground. Tanya's mother was waiting. She had already seen Yami fly up behind her daughter.  
"Thanks for the help Yami," Tanya said.  
"You're very welcome," Yami said.  
"Now Tanya, you know not to call the teacher by his first name," the mother said.  
"It's all right Mrs. Black. I don't like being called mister and told the students that I preferred being called only Yami," Yami said.  
Tanya and her mother left, and Yugi stood next to Yami.  
"Ready to go Yugi?" Yami asked.  
"I sure am," Yugi responded.  
Yami scooped Yugi up and flew for home. They arrived in only five minutes. Once inside, they had fish and some fruit for lunch. At 3pm, Solomon arrived after a busy day at the dock.  
"Did you have a good day at school?" Solomon asked.  
"I sure did grandpa," Yugi responded. "Yami is my gym teacher," he added.  
"Well Yami, you can help me with the bills that have to be paid," Solomon said.  
"I'll help in whatever way I can grandpa. I'm going to like my job. I get paid while having fun," Yami said.  
  
  
  
  
  
End of this chapter. I thought that this is one way that Yami could find out about Yugi's culture. What better way to find out about the concept of school than to become a teacher hey? Preview for Chapter 2: Hostages: A month has passed since Yami became the new gym teacher. The students loved him. He turned out to be the exact opposite of their previous gym teacher. One rainy day, a group of bank robbers enter the school and takes everyone hostage. The police are powerless to take action. Yami is the only one who can save the people of the school. Can he before something disastrous happens?  
  
In this chapter, you will know about why the students hated their previous gym teacher so badly.  



	2. Hostages

Recap: Yugi explained that the people of the Philippines were influenced by the things America showed them. For only giving some of their harvest, they recieved education, medicine and other things from the Americans. Yami went with Yugi on the first day of high school to see what exactly goes on. The news of a new gym teacher gave Yugi the idea that Yami could be the new teacher. Yami got the job and made a good first day impression on most of his students.  
' is thoughts  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 2: Hostages  
  
Yami became the new gym teacher at Yugi's high school. Most of the students were pretty skeptical of him at first, but he earned their full trust as time went on. A full month had passed since Yami became the new gym teacher, and all the students loved him. He did well with helping Solomon with the finances too. Having two people working made things a lot easier for them and Yugi. It was currently a cool and rainy Sunday afternoon.  
"You're the best gym teacher I've had so far," Yugi said.  
"Why do you say it that way?" Yami asked.  
"I first had gym in Middle School. The teachers were very strict, and I couldn't do some of the things they had me do most of the time because of my size. I barely passed those gym classes. That changed when I met you. You showed me how to climb things, which increased my endurance and you don't grade strictly at all. All you want from us is a good effort," Yugi responded.  
"Everyone can't get everything right Yugi. Gym class really proves that. All that counts is the effort they give. So far, everyone in my class has given a great effort. I'm very impressed with them and you. You did very well on the soccer field Friday," Yami said.  
"I suprised myself. I never played soccer before until Friday," Yugi said. "Mr. Simms is very happy about what you've done."  
Mr. Simms occasionally came to the gym area to see how the students were doing. He was very impressed with what he saw. All the students gave everything they tried a good effort since Yami took the job as gym teacher. Even the other teachers liked the job he did. Some of them also watched the way Yami taught the class.  
The students of his class had nothing but good things to say about him. Their parents couldn't have been prouder of the job he did if they tried. Yami now spent half an hour after class helping the students out. He diddn't mind because helping is what he was there for. Yugi also benefited from the extra time because most of it was in the sports areas. He learned more about the sports and became a little better at them.  
"Is this rain ever going to stop?" Yugi asked.  
"I know how you feel. I want to go out myself," Yami said.  
"Well, the weatherman said that the rain should stop tonight, and things will look better for tomorrow," Solomon said.  
"Well, at least our crops in the backyard are getting the water they need. Things are heading towards a good harvest this year. We're getting the water we need for our crops, and the temperatures are always just right here. The only thing that would destroy our crops is a typhoon or a tornado," Yugi said.  
"We've had our share of typhoons during the summer months, but they never stopped us for long. We're very lucky to have a sturdy house that protects us from extreme weather. There being no trees around is an added bonus because we don't have to worry about having one fall or get struck by lightning," Solomon said.  
In New Atlantis, sea quakes were the only natural disaster we had to worry about," Yami said.  
"We don't have to worry about earthquakes here. Since there are no trees here, nothing can fall on the house. We've had our share of earthquakes here too, but the house is still standing strong," Yugi said.  
The conversation about weather and natural disasters continued until dinnertime. By then, the rain had finally stopped coming down, and the moon and stars shone through the now clear sky. They ate dinner together in silence in regards to the peaceful night. The only thing breaking the otherwise total silence was the crickets' chirping nearby.  
"Your night to do dishes Yami," Yugi said.  
"All right," Yami said smiling.  
Yugi had shown Yami how to do dishes. Yami caught on to it like you would flick a light switch on. They and Solomon agreed to rotate nights doing the dishes. Out of the three of them, Yami washed dishes the fastest. He did them as professionally as he did them fast. Yugi and Solomon were always amazed by how fast it took him to finish the chore. This night was no different. The sink was full of dishes from the morning and afternoon, but Yami had them done in only five minutes.  
"You never cease to amaze me with how fast you can do dishes," Solomon said.  
"I can do them every night if you want," Yami offered.  
"No Yami, we agreed to take turns doing it. Besides, Grandpa and I have always taken turns," Yugi said.  
The remaining three hours were uneventful like most nights are after dinner. Yugi, Yami and Solomon went to their rooms to turn in for the night. Yugi opened his window the moment he and Yami entered their room. Although it gets cool in the night, his room was unusually stuffy. The night air helped the room stay cool. The window was wide enough for two people to just sit or stand by it and look outside.  
"It sure is a fantastic night," Yami said.  
"Yes it is," Yugi agreed.  
Then, they saw something whisk through the bluish black sky. Yami stared at it in awe. He had never seen anything like that before, living underwater of course.  
"Whoa what was that?" Yami asked in awe.  
"That is what we call a shooting star Yami," Yami responded.  
"Is it really a star?" Yami asked.  
"Not really. A shooting star is actually a meteorite from space. It's so small, that it burns up in our atmosphere and streaks across the sky," Yugi responded. "It is a tradition to make a wish on a shooting star. But they saw that if you tell what you wished for, it won't come true so don't say your wishes out loud," he added.  
"Well, maybe next time we can make ours," Yami said.  
"Yeah," Yugi said.  
They soon got into their pajamas and went to bed. They and Solomon went clothes shopping for Yami since nothing Yugi or Solomon had clearly would not fit Yami since he was a foot taller than both of them. They slept in peace this night. No dreams, good or bad visited them this night. The sound of the birds' melodious voices woke them up the next morning.  
"Those birds sound lovely today," Yugi said.  
"They do indeed. You need to get ready," Yami said.  
Yugi nodded, gathered his uniform, and went into the bathroom to bathe and dress. He came out half an hour later and came downstairs for breakfast. He had pancakes and sausage this time.  
"Be careful Yugi. I'll see you at gym class," Yami said.  
Okay Yami see you then," Yugi said, getting his backpack and walking out the door to school. He arrived in half an hour and found Tanya, Bill and Samantha waiting at the door.  
"Good morning Yugi," Tanya said smiling.  
"Hi Tanya, Bill, Samantha, how are you?" Yugi asked.  
"We're fine. How are you?" Samantha said.  
"I'm fine thanks," Yugi said smiling.  
"Will Yami be here today?" Bill asked.  
"Yes. He said he would see me at gym class. He's at home with Grandpa now," Yugi responded. "I'm glad that I have friends like you. I never really had many friends if any," he added.  
"I don't understand why anyone wouldn't want to be a friend to a nice, caring boy like you," Tanya said. "To be honest, I've never had a friend like you before."  
"We better head to class or we'll be late," Samantha said.  
The others nodded and headed for science class. After the greetings from the class and teacher, class got underway. The lesson for the week would be on the aspect of light. Back at the Moto household, Solomon prepared to leave for the warehouse.  
"Take good care of Yugi for me. I'll see you in two weeks from when I arrive off Hawaii's coast. I'll call to see how things are going," Solomon said.  
"I will and be careful out there," Yami said.  
"I will," Solomon said and went outside. Then he drove off for the fishing warehouse. He had an important and busy couple of weeks ahead of him. He and his crew were to go on a two-week event off the coast of Hawaii.  
This time, they were to bring back more than fish. Sometimes they also brought back foreign fruits, oils and other things from other countries on their job. At about 10:30 am, Yami also left. He flew for the school and arrived in five minutes. There, he waited for the students to come. Five minutes later, the bell rung, and the students showed up for class. They got changed and lined up. Yami took roll. All but Catherine was present and accounted for again.  
"Is Catherine sick today?" Yami asked Nancy.  
"Yes she is. She has a bad case of the flu and has been in bed for the past three days," Nancy responded.  
"Well tell her that I hope she gets better when you get home," Yami said smiling.  
"I'm sure she'll really like that," Nancy said smiling.  
As Yami marked Catherine absent on the roll sheet, he noticed something that he really didn't pay attention to before. Most of the students had redo to the left of their names.  
"What is this redo about for most of you?" Yami asked.  
The students that had a redo by their names were Tanya, Bobby, Nancy, Jim, Robert, Heather, Jose, Wanda, Don, Catherine, Jill and Lily. Those students elected Tanya to tell him about that.  
"Well Yami, this is the third year for some of us, and the second year for the rest of us. We're glad that our old teacher resigned. We all thought of his as the minion from Hell. He was exremely arrogant and conceited. He believed that everyone should be perfect and do things without making a mistake.  
He was too arrogant to realize that everyone, including him is not the perfect athlete or the perfect anything. We could've made just one mistake, and he failed us for the day. We did the best we could, but he wouldn't even give us credit for our effort like you do. Over time, we just slacked off becuase it wouldn't matter anymore," Tanya responded. "We thought that you would be the same way Yami, but you proved us to be very wrong," she added.  
Hearing about the previous teacher outraged Yami. He knew that everyone's not perfect. "That angers me to know that a teacher would be so uncaring like that. Everyone makes mistakes, even that prideful jerk. Gym is not supposed to be based on mistakes, but effort. As long as you guys continue to give a decent effort, you will do very well in my class. I'm extremely impressed with all of you. You're all doing exceptionally well," Yami said.  
Then they spent ten minutes stretching. After stretching, they went to the rock wall. Some of the students still had a lot of trouble with the wall, but they took it one day at a time.  
"We're going to do something different today. There will be a race today. We'll have the ones who can make it to the top go first. For the ones who still have trouble, the one who makes it the furthest before falling off wins. Yugi will not participate since it wouldn't be fair because he climbs the wall fast every time," Yami said.  
The students nodded, and Yugi stood next to Yami to watch the race. As far as the ones who could make it to the top, the winners were Amy and Chris. As far as the ones who had trouble, Wanda and Nancy made it the furthest before losing their grip.  
"Well done all of you. For the ones who had trouble, don't worry about it. You have given great effort. In time, you will be as successful as the others. Now, let's head over to the gymnast area (A/N: I decided to add something new to the area)," Yami said.  
They headed for the gymnast area.  
"Today we'll work on the balance beam, the parallel bars and on some other things if we have time," Yami said. "All of you just do the best you can; that's all I'm looking for." He then demonstrated how to walk the balance beam.  
The beam stretched out twenty-five feet. He walked across without the slightest difficulty. His great balance amazed everyone. He came back without any trouble as well.  
"I don't expect you to do it as well as me, but give it your best try. If you fall off, just get back on and continue," Yami said.  
One by one, each student tried the balance beam. This time, every students had quite a bit of trouble on the balance beam. They fell off many times. This was something that they would definitely have to work on.  
"You all gave it a great effort. We'll work in this area twice a week on Mondays and Fridays. The more we work here, the more your balance will improve. The only reason I'm good at this is because I've had training in many of the things that are in this part of the gym area," Yami said. He was already over by the parallel bars. He had a firm grip on the bars and pushed himself up off the ground a little. "What I want you to do now is to get in the position you see me in and hold it for as long as you can. This is another way to test your upper body strength," he said as he got out his stopwatch.  
Again, the students went one by one. Everyone was surprised to find out that Yugi had the longest time before relaxing. Yugi had stayed in postion for twenty seconds. Even Yami was very surprised, but he was also very impressed.  
"I have to admit Yugi. I'm very impressed. I didn't think that you would be able to hold out as long as you did," Yami said as the other students nodded, still in awe.  
"To be honest, I surprised myself," Yugi admitted. "My arms are tired though."  
"You can rest for a while before you attempt something else Yugi," Yami said. He looked at his watch and saw that it was 11:15. "Well, we have ten more minutes of class time. Let's head over to the rings."  
Everyone headed to the rings.  
"We're going to have to make this as quick as possible because I want to give you your free time. What I want you to do is see how far that you make it before falling off. The padding below the rings assures that you won't get hurt. To do this quickly, I want all of you to do it in a chain link. One of you will start by grabbing a ring. Then the next person witll come up as the first person starts across. Count ten seconds and then follow until all twenty of you have grabbed on," Yami said.  
Amy started it off and went across. Ten seconds later, Chris followed her. It went like that in ten-second increments until all the students have gotten on. Yugi was the last one on because his arms were still tired for him to have gone sooner. Only a few of them made it to the other side. Some of them fell off five rings into it, and most of them fell because their arms were still tired from the parallel bars.  
"You all did very well. Next time, we'll do this before the parallel bars," Yami said. "You finished just in time for your free time so have fun."  
The students split off this time. Ten of them went to the basketball court while the other then just lazed around in the pool. The ones in the pool either went for a swim or just floated on their backs. Yugi and the other nine students were over at the basketball court.  
"Hey Yugi, would you like to try this?" Tanya asked.  
"Okay," Yugi responded.  
The ten at the basketball court just shot hoops. Yugi gave it his best effort, but all he ended up shooting were air balls. The others did pretty well, but also missed quite a few. As they say, 'Time flies when you're having fun' because it was time to leave before they knew it.  
"Don't worry Yugi. You'll get better. You gave it a great try," Johnny said.  
"I agree Yugi. You just need more practice that's all," Yami agreed.  
The students all left with their parents this time, and Yami flew Yugi back home. Yami opened the door, and they went in before Yugi locked the door back.  
"Grandpa said that he had a big job off the coast of Hawaii and would be back in two weeks from when he gets there," Yami said. "He said that he would keep in contact with us though."  
"I usually feel lonely when he goes out on those jobs. Now I have you here with me so I won't feel lonely anymore," Yugi said.  
Meanwhile in another part of the area, a group of bank robbers schemed on how they were going to pull off the biggest bank heist of their lives. They had been planning it for the past month to make sure everything would go the way they wanted it. They planned to take hostages to assure their getaway. They would pull the heist off in two weeks.  
Solomon and his crew were amazed by how fast they arrived in Hawaii. They arrived only an hour after nightfall. The wind and sea was with them and gave them a safe and swift trip. Solomon phoned Yugi and Yami the moment he reached a phone. They were thankful for his and his crew's safe journey. Things were quiet and uneventful as the days went on. Solomon kept in daily contact with his grandsons. Before everyone knew it, two weeks had passed, and Solomon returned home safely (A/N: Sorry for cutting this so short, but I really want to get into the hostage scene).  
"Thank goodness you're back safe," Yugi said, hugging his grandfather.  
"It was a good trip. Things went a lot better than I expected, and I expected things to go well anyway. We came back with a lot of fish and other things," Solomon said.  
All three of them were unaware of the horrible day tomorrow would bring. They ate in silence as they usually did. A few hours later, they turned in for the night. The night brought an uneasy peace for Yami. He had a bad feeling that something bad was going to happen. He slept in an uneasy peace to start, but the uneasiness soon disappeared.  
The next morning, the birds were not out singing like they usually were. Yugi woke up and looked out his window to find out why and saw that it was raining, and pretty good too. He got up and closed the window so it wouldn't get too cool in the room.  
"I can hear the rain. It's coming down pretty good out there," Yami said.  
"I know. I guess that means that there will be no gym today," Yugi said.  
"There's no guess about it Yugi. Having gym in this weather would be like asking the people to get sick. The gym area is completely outside. I'll take you to school and pick you up today," Yami said.  
Yugi nodded and got ready for school. Then minutes before the first class started, Yami took Yugi to school. Yugi really didn't need the raingear because Yami put a shield over himself and Yugi to keep the rain off them, but it's better to be safe than sorry as they say.  
"I'll see you at 10:45 little bro," Yami said before flying off.  
"See you then," Yugi said waving.  
Meanwhile, the bank heist was already underway. The group of ten robbers casually went into the bank. To keep suspicion low, they came in looking like any other customer. The backpacks they carried looked normal if not for the fact that they held concealed weapons. One of them went in line and patiently waited to get to the teller as if wanting to make a deposit, withdrawal, etc. No one, not even the security guards had a clue that what appeared to be an ordinary day would soon turn violent.  
The concealed robber made it to the teller ten minutes later, and the other nine gathered around him. The robber at the teller went in his backpack, appearing to pull out something for a deposit. The teller was surprised and frightened when he pulled out a gun instead.  
"All right, nobody move. Get down on the ground now and no one gets hurt," the lead robber said.  
The people got down on the ground. The security guards could do nothing because they were outnumbered 10 to 2. They had no choice but to get on the ground. Two of the robbers then proceeded to the vault. One of the tellers attempted to press a silent alarm, but a sharp-eyed robber saw her and fired a warning shot a few meters from her head.  
"Don't try anything sneaky or you're dead," the lead robber said.  
The two robbers came from the vault with $250,000 stuffed in their packs. Then the ten robbers left. After leaving, the teller called 911 and told the police what happened. The search for the bank robbers was on. An hour later, the police caught up with the bank robbers' two vehicles. That resulted in a high-speed chase.  
Meanwhile, Yugi, the students, the teachers and the principle were unaware of the approaching danger. An hour later, they heard tires screeching and someone get out in a hurry. They were terrified to see an armed man pointing his gun at them.  
"Out of the room now," the robber said.  
Everyone ran out of the room and was forced inside the cafeteria. Soon, eveyone in the school was in the cafeteria. One robber was inside while the other guarded the door. The other eight crooks split themselves among the exits. The police were helpless to do anything. Too many lives were at stake now.  
"Now back away or we'll kill everyone in this school. We have the ammo to do it," the lead criminal said.  
In the cafeteria, the students, teachers and principal were all terrified. They couldn't try anything without getting hurt, which is what none of them needed right now. Yami and Solomon just happened to be watching TV when the show was interrupted.  
"We interrupt this show for a breaking news bulletin. As you can see, the police are at a stand off with ten crooks that robbed a bank about ten miles east of this station. They were chased all the way to this school and are holding everyone inside hostage," the female reporter said.  
"I've got to go now," Yami said in desperation.  
"Good luck," Solomon said.  
Yami went outside and flew off. It was still raining so he put his shield back over him. He knew he had to do something to stop those robbers from hurting anyone inside.  
'I knew something bad was going to happen. I've got to think of a way to save them,' Yami thought. He arrived at the school in five minutes. He became invisible so no one would see him. He went in through an open door and walked on, still invisible so the robbers wouldn't see him.  
"We have the building surrounded. Give up; you can't go anywhere," the police lieutenant said.  
"You're not the one in power now. We have hostages and we will not hesitate to kill them if you don't back off," the lead robber said.  
"We could storm the building quicker than you can even kill one of those people," the lieutenant said.  
"That will be impossible since two of us are positioned at and inside the cafeteria so don't even try it," the lead robber said.  
'So that's were they are,' Yami thought. He headed for the cafeteria. He hid behind some lockers before becoming visible again.  
The robber was on alert in case the police tried anything sneaky. Suddenly, a hand tightly came around his mouth, preventing him from making a sound. Then Yami slammed the robber full scale into the lockers, knocking the crook out. Everyone inside heard the crash and wondered what happened. The crook inside opened the door to find Yami standing there.  
"Peek-a-boo," Yami said before punching the crook in the face.  
The crook went flying into the wall, also getting knocked out.  
"Is everyone all right?" Yami asked.  
"We are now that you're here," Yugi responded.  
"Who are you?" the lead crook asked.  
"My name is not important to you," Yami responded.  
"You're right on that one," the lead criminal said before drawing his gun and firing.  
"Watch out!" one of the teachers shouted.  
Yami was way ahead of it and ran out of the way. He stopped by the wall. "You're too slow," he said.  
The lead criminal and the other criminals just stood there in shock. Everyone else except Yugi was shocked as well. They thought that Yami disappeared when he actually ran faster than their eyes could follow.  
"I won't miss again," the lead criminal said before he and the other criminals fired.  
Even though the eight criminals fired at the same time twice, Yami dodged all sixteen bullets by flipping upward. The criminals took the chance and fired Yami while he was still in the air. Yami hovered in the air, spread his arms out, and a fiery arch shot out from his outstretched hands. The arch destroyed the bullets.  
"Now to take away your guns," Yami said as he shot a laser at the guns.  
The criminals screamed in pain before dropping the guns. The guns melted and dissolved away. Yami then snapped his fingers, and the criminals disappeared to reappear in front of the police. The criminals' hands were tied behind their backs.  
"I wonder how that happened," the police sergeant said.  
"I did it," Yami said as he came out with everyone behind him.  
"Yami saved our lives," Mr. Simms said.  
"How did you get in when we couldn't?" the lieutenant asked.  
Yami explained how he handled all ten crooks by himself. The police were amazed to hear some of the things he could do; the fact that one man took out ten criminals by himself really amazed them.  
"One person did make a difference here. As police sergeant, I humbly thank you for helping us capture these notorious crooks and saving the entire school," the sergeant said.  
"It was nothing," Yami said before scooping up Yugi and flying off. He arrived at home in a little while and went in before putting Yugi down.  
Yugi then hugged Yami. "You saved us all today," he said.  
"Like I told the police, it was nothing," Yami said, hugging Yugi back.  
"I'm so glad that you and everyone at school are safe Yugi," Solomon said. "I saw the explanation on the news."  
Yugi and Yami separated for Yugi to hug his grandfather. They parted a few minutes later. Then all three of them just sat in the couch in silence. This day proved that safety couldn't be guaranteed, even at school. The weather brightened up as if responding to the now good day. With Yami around, things would become a little safer one step at a time.  
  
  
Finished with this chapter. Preview for Chapter 3: Birthday Surprise: Yami is planning something very special for Yugi's birthday. Solomon doesn't know of the surprise yet because it's going to be a surprise for him too. What is the surprise? Some of you might be have to figure it out. For the ones that don't, you'll find out.  
  
Oh, and this is the last update I will make this week because I have to get ready to move back to school. I move back next Tuesday and I start next Thursday. So I will be updating when I have the time from now on.


	3. Birthday Surprise

Recap: Yami was a natural and then some with his new job as the school gym teacher. He and the most current students of the class got to hear about how obnoxious the former gym teacher was. They even went over some new things in the gym class. A rainy day brought big trouble as a group of bank robbers robbed a bank and then held up everyone at Yugi's school in an attempt to get away Scott free with the money. Luckily though, Yami happened to be watching television when the show he watched got interrupted. He managed to save the school and apprehend the bank robbers.  
' is thoughts  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 3: Birthday Surprise  
  
Thanks to Yami, what could've been a horrific tragedy ended up with a happy ending. Yami and Yugi were currently on the porch swing. It took a few hours for the porch swing to dry, and they got on it after if fully dried. This porch swing wasn't actually on the porch but in the back yard. This was to prevent the swing from bumping up against and possibly breaking a window. Yami propelled the swing while Yugi had his head on Yami's shoulder.  
"I don't know what would've happened if you didn't come Yami. I had never been that scared in my whole life. I thought everyone in the school was going to die," Yugi said.  
"This proves to have faith in me Yugi. It was a good thing I was watching television because the show that grandfather and I were watching was interrupted, and what happened at our school was the breaking news story. Even if I wasn't watching TV, my family would've told me the situation," Yami said.  
"That's right Yugi. We're still watching over you as well as our son/brother and your and now his mortal grandfather," the voice of Zeus said.  
"We will make sure to alert him to any dangers that you may happen to be in young one. We love you and your grandfather as much as we love Yami," the voice of Athena added.  
"See Yugi, you're among friends and family," Yami said.  
"And a very powerful family at that," Yugi said.  
Yami then remembered that Yugi's birthday was coming up in two days. He planned something very special for Yugi. It wasn't only for Yugi though, but it was for their grandfather as well. Yami knew that they would both like what he planned for them(A/N: I hope you have an idea of what I'm getting at now. If you don't, you will when I start to talk about the beginnings of the surprise).  
Yugi was excited about his approaching birthday. He would be 16 years old. Yami had requested if he could be excused for the rest of this week and next week because he was planning a surprise that would take more than a week to fully complete and that they would be back by next Saturday night.  
  
| Flashback |  
  
"May I be excused for the rest of this week and next week? I'm planning a surprise for Yugi's birthday on Thursday and I won't be back until next Saturday," Yami said.  
Mr. Simms granted Yami's request. "You deserve it Yami. You've done such a great job as gym teacher that I've decided to give you a raise as well," he said. "You saved everyone's life, and I will be eternally grateful for that."  
That was a double bonus. Of course the students would miss him, but all of them except Yugi already knew what Yami had in mind as a surprise because he told them. They felt very happy for Yugi because what Yami had planned for him was something that they could only dream about.  
  
| End Flashback |  
  
Yami continued to propel the swing. About an hour later, he stopped and he and Yugi just sat there, enjoying the sunshine now that the rain passed away. They went back inside at dusk. They ate dinner in silence. Afterwards, Yugi had dish night. He did the dishes and put on a sweater.  
"Can I go back on the porch swing for a while?" Yugi asked.  
"Just make sure you turn on the backyard light first," Solomon responded.  
"I'll go outside with him," Yami said.  
Solomon and Yugi nodded, and Yugi and Yami went outside. Yami turned on the light. There were lights all over the backyard, providing a well-lit area. Yugi went straight for the porch swing. Yami sat beside his brother. There was enough room for one to lie down. Yugi rested his head on Yami's lap as Yami propelled the swing.   
About an hour later, Yugi fell asleep on the swing. Yami smiled and picked his little brother up. He turned off all the lights except the one above the backyard door. He carried Yugi to their room and placed Yugi on the bed. Yami changed Yugi inot a pair of pajamas before changing himself. Then he lay down beside Yugi and pulled the sheets and blankets over them. Then he fell asleep himself. Solomon came to check up on them. He smiled and left them to sleep.  
'This must have been an exhausting day for both of them,' Solomon thought.  
Yugi and Yami slept on. About a few hours later, a thunder clasp boomed. Yugi shot straight up, shaking in fear.  
"Yugi, what's the matter?" Yami sleepily asked.   
Yugi's sudden jerk awakened Yami. Yami got his answer when another thunder clasp boomed.  
"Yugi, it's only thunder. Thunder can't hurt you. I'll admit, I used to be afraid of it too," Yami said.  
"How were you afraid of thunder when you lived underwater?" Yugi asked. He yelped as another thunder clasp boomed.  
"Sometimes during my daily swim, it rained. I surfaced to get a feel of it. I found it quite refreshing and appreciated it. Sometimes, the rain would be accompanied with thunder and lightning. At first, I was very afraid of it. But over time, I got as used to the thunder and lightning as I did just plain rain," Yami responded.  
"Did you ever get struck?" Yugi asked.  
"I did. I got struck only once. That was before I became a mage. During the time before I was a mage, I would stay deep enough in the water in case of a thunderstorm. When I became a mage, I used protection spells to prevent the lightning from striking or affecting me," Yami responded.  
The next thunder clasp was a loud one. It was so loud, that it shook the house. Yugi jumped out of bed and bolted for the door.  
"Yugi!" Yami yelled. He quickly got out of bed and charged for the door. He got there before Yugi and spread his arms out.  
Yugi ran straight into Yami's open arms. Yami closed his arms around Yugi in a secure embrace. He then picked up Yugi and placed him back in the bed. Yami got in afterwards and continued to embrace Yugi. Yami could feel Yugi's really tense body.  
"Yugi, it's all right. Calm down; I'm right here. I won't let anything happen to you. You need to relax. Nothing's going to happen while I"m here," Yami said comfortingly.  
Yugi slowly relaxed into Yami's embrace. A few minutes later, he was completely calm. That went out the window when another loud clasp shook the house. Yami held onto Yugi securely so Yugi would bolt for the door again.  
"Yugi, try to take your mind off the thunder. Try to put yourself in a peaceful place. Be creative and use your imagination," Yami said. He laid Yugi back in the bed. He put the covers back over them before lying back down himself.  
Yugi did as Yami told him. He imagined himself in a peaceful meadow with Yami right beside him. Amazingly, he didn't hear the thunder any longer. He slept peacefully for the rest of the night. The next morning was bright and sunny. Yugi got bathed and dressed. He had his breakfast before walking to school. He arrived to find a sign on the door.  
The sign read: School has been cancelled for today. Most of the teachers have suffered a power outage and some medium damage to the homes and won't be able to come in today.  
Yugi shrugged and walked back home. When he came back through the door, Solomon and Yami were very surprised.  
"What happened at school Yugi?" Yami asked.  
"The storm caused a big power outage and some home damage for many of the teachers. School is cancelled," Yugi responded.  
"I hope they'll be all right," Yami said. He shrugged and went to a separate room to continue planning what he would do with Yugi and Solomon starting tomorrow. 'They both will be so surprised when they see what I have planned for them,' he thought with a smile. He knew that he would have to blindfold Yugi for one thing.  
The next thing was to mask where they actually were from Yugi. This could easily be done with a quick spell. At lunchtime, Yugi knocked on the door.  
"Yes?" Yami asked.  
"Lunch is ready Yami," Yugi responded.  
"Okay Yugi, I'll be down in a few moments," Yami said.  
Yugi went on ahead and sat at the kitchen table. Since Solomon was away on a little fishing trip, Yugi had fixed lunch. He was pretty good at it because he learned from his grandfather. Yami came down a few moments later, and they had lunch together.  
"It's such a nice day. Can we go flying or something?" Yugi said.  
"Sure," Yami said.  
After they finished lunch, Yami did the dishes. Half an hour later, they went outside. Yami scooped Yugi up and leapt into the air. He flew to about a mile over the town. He flew at a medium speed. Yugi just took in the view he received. He felt like the tallest thing on earth right now because everything below looked the size of ants.  
"I'll always enjoy this. This is so amazing," Yugi said.  
"I agree Yugi," Yami said. 'You'll really enjoy what I have planned for you starting tomorrow,' he thought. He flew above the town and soon reached the city.  
Yugi was in real awe as he looked over the city. He had never been to the city until now. "I've never been here before. The city looks so incredible," he said, still in awe.  
"I'm amazed myself Yugi," Yami agreed. He flew through the city for most of the day. Then he flew back for home.  
They arrived after dark. Solomon was waiting for them. He really wasn't at all worried because he knew that Yami would keep Yugi safe.  
"Have a good time?" Solomon asked.  
"We sure did Grandpa. Yami took me to see the city. It looked so amazing, especially at night. The lit-up city was breathtaking," Yugi responded.  
They soon ate dinner. This time, it wasn't in silence.  
"So, are you getting excited about your birthday Yugi?" Solomon asked.  
"Yes I am. I'm so excited about turning 16," Yugi responded.  
'You don't know excitement yet,' Yami thought with a smile.  
After dinner, Solomon did the dishes. A few hours afterwards, they went to sleep. Yugi only thought about tomorrow. He couldn't wait. Meanwhile at New Atlantis, the merpeople were just as excited. They couldn't wait for their prince's arrival since he was banished 8 years ago. They did well in their democracy. The higher-class people did their best to limit what they did becaue the lower class people had as much say as they did.  
The night seemed to go quickly for Yugi. He didn't need anything to wake him up when he felt the sun's light on him. He virtually jumped out of bed. He showered and dressed within half an hour. Then he went down to the kitchen. Yami and Solomon were already there. They had their breakfast, and Yugi did the dishes afterwards. Half an hour later, Yami spoke.  
"We need to get going. I have a surprise in store for you," Yami said.  
"I'm ready to go," Yugi said.  
"This surprise is for Grandpa too. That is if you want to go Grandpa," Yami said.  
"I would love to go," Solomon said.  
"First thing is first Yugi," Yami said as he created a blindfold and put it on Yugi's eyes. "Can't have you seeing it. I'll guide you along so don't worry." Yami guided Yugi to the door. He opened it and guided Yugi out with Solomon following. Solomon locked the door. Then Yami scooped up Yugi and flew into the air.  
"Yami, what about Grandpa?" Yugi asked.  
"Don't worry Yugi. I've planned that out too," Yami responded.  
Solomon felt himself lift into the air. He looked up and saw that Yami was responsible for lifting him into the air. Then Yami flew off. Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the ocean. Yami cast a cloaking spell on Yugi. Instead of making Yugi invisible, this cloaking spell would have Yugi continue to think that he and Yami were in the air.  
"I'm going to transport us into the water. Don't tell Yugi that we're in the water, or the surprise will be blown," Yami whispered in Solomon's ear.  
"I won't," Solomon whispered back.  
Yami transported himself and them into the water. Just like Yami planned, Yugi thought they were still in the air. Yugi didn't know that he was actually under the water. Yami swam on, carrying Yugi. Yami cast the spell to help Solomon breathe underwater. They swam for five hours. Well actually, Yami swam for five hours because he still had Solomon in his levitation spell.   
Another half an hour later, they arrived at their destination. Yami removed the cloaking spell after casting the spell to help Yugi breathe underwater. Yugi felt that he was underwater. He was pretty confused now. He could have sworn that Yami was still in the air.   
"How did we get underwater Yami? I thought you were still in the air," Yugi said in confusion.  
"Take off your blindfold and see," Yami responded.  
Yugi removed his blindfold and saw that he, Yami and his grandfather were in front of Yami's kingdom. "Wha? What are we doing here?" he asked.  
"Surprise! Happy Birthday Yugi!" a bunch of voices chorused.  
Yugi looked and saw the merpeople all outside the gate. He looked at Yami. Yami had a wide smirk on his face.  
"You planned this didn't you?" Yugi asked.  
"Yes I did Yugi. I wanted you to see my kingdom and have some fun here. I didn't want you to feel that you were underwater because you would've figured it out before I wanted you to. Now, let's go in and enjoy ourselves shall we?" Yami said.  
"Absolutely," Yugi responded as Yami swam in.  
Yami removed the levitation spell off Solomon so he could swim as well. Unlike Yugi, Solomon could swim, and very well at that. They prepared to have a really good time. The merpeople were absolutely thrilled to have Yugi and his grandfather visiting the kingdom and would make sure to give a good experience.  
  
  
  
Well, I planned to end it right here. I thought that revealing the surprise would be a good way to end this chapter. The next chapter is when the real fun begins. Preview for Chapter 4: Birthday Fun: Yugi got one of the biggest surprises of his life seeing that his birthday would be spent in Yami's kingdom. Most of New Atlantis's populace want to make sure that their guests have a good time. But there's always someone that wants to be the party pooper. If Erick was bad enough, this person is worse. It's going to be an OC because this story is basically Yami and Yugi-centered just like its prequel Stranded. 


	4. Birthday Fun

Recap: Yugi's birthday was closing in, and Yami was planning something extra special. After having his request to have a week and a half away, Yami finished planning. When Yugi's birthday came, Yami took him and Solomon for a swim, after blindfolding Yugi. Thanks to Yami's magic, Yugi thought that Yami was in the air. That illusion and the blindfold disappeared to reveal that they were in front of Yami's kingdom of New Atlantis. The merfolk were overjoyed to have Yugi and his grandfather visit.  
' is thoughts  
  
Chapter 4: Birthday Fun  
  
It has been a few hours since Yami had arrived at his kingdom turned democracy. The people were thrilled to see Yami again; they were more thrilled to meet his young friend. Yami and Yugi were currently outside the castle walls. They were playing with a group of six merchildren. They were playing Tag.  
"This is fun," one of the merboys said.  
"Yes it is," one of the mergirls agreed.  
Yami and Yugi worked together. Because Yugi was human, he wouldn't really be able to keep up with the merchildren. Even though the children were small, they were fast. So Yami held Yugi and swam through the water. Yami and Yugi were it now, and they closed their eyes and counted to twenty to give the children a good start.  
"Let's see if we can find them," Yugi said.  
Yami swam out to find someone to tag. The merchildren were doing their best not to laugh out loud. They hid behind a large and wide statue. But the really didn't have to laugh because their shadows were clearly showing. Because New Atlantis was golden and silver, it was a source of light in itself. Yami saw the shadows and swam to the statue.  
"They're behind that statue," Yami quietly told Yugi.  
Yugi got a mischievous look in his eyes. "Let's sneak up on them," he whispered in Yami's ear.  
Yami grinned mischievously and slowed down. He made sure that they children wouldn't see his shadow and swim away. He closed the gap on them: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 "Boo!" he shouted.  
"Aaahhh!" all the merchildren screamed. All but one mergirl swam away without being tagged.  
The mergirl that was tagged was the youngest of the group. She was only 3-years old. She had blond hair, green eyes and a light green tail. Yugi couldn't hold in his laughter and laughed so hard that he started crying. Yami laughed pretty hard himself. Soon, the merchildren joined in the laughter. Then everyone who say what happened had to laugh.  
"That was a good one Yami," Yugi said after he regained his composure.  
"We agree. You really scared us," the youngest mergirl said.  
"Thank you," Yami said.  
"Could you take me on a tour through your castle?" Yugi asked.  
"It would be my pleasure Yugi," Yami responded. "We'll play another time," he said to the merchildren.  
"Bye, and enjoy your birthday Yugi," the merchildren said.  
"I'll do my best and thanks," Yugi said before Yami swam in the direction of the castle.  
A few minutes later, Yami went in the castle and showed Yugi around. The castle was huge and magnificent. The outside was gold and silver, but the inside was gold and marble. This blend of beauty made the castle breath taking to behold. Seaweed sculptures hung on the walls.  
"This is beautiful Yami," Yugi said in awe.  
"Just wait until you see my room," Yami said. He reached his room a few minutes later.  
To his joy, his room was still as beautiful as it was when he was exiled. A large open clam was by the wall. Yugi could see a pillow inside, meaning that the clam was used for a bed. Seeing that made him nervous. He didn't like small, closed spaces too much. Yami saw the nervous expression on Yugi's face.  
"What's wrong Yugi?" Yami asked.  
"Huh? Oh, I'm nervous about that clam. I fear that it might close up on me when I sleep in it," Yugi responded.  
Yami chuckled a little. "Don't worry about that Yugi. The clams have never closed up on anyone sleeping in them. Besides, I'll be sleeping with you. You don't have a thing to worry about," he said.  
"I guess," Yugi said.  
Yami then took Yugi around the rest of the room. An hour later, Yugi's stomach made itself known. Yami laughed a little as Yugi blushed in embarrassment.  
"I guess I'm famished," Yugi said.  
"It's time for dinner anyway. Let's go to the dining hall," Yami said. He took Yugi to the dining hall where Solomon and the other officials waited.  
"Ah Yugi, are you enjoying yourself?" Solomon asked.  
"I sure am Grandpa," Yugi responded.  
"This is a very nice castle. Joseph showed me around," Solomon said.  
"It is amazing. Just being able to look around almost took my breath away," Yugi said.  
Yami placed Yugi in a chair and sat next to him. In New Atlantis, the octopi and squids volunteered to be the chairs. Octopi and squids for the most part got along very well with the people of New Atlantis. There were always a few who wouldn't be friendly, but there were more friendly ones than non-friendly ones. Almost everyone in the dining hall wasn't aware of a sinister presence just outside the window. The presence was invisible so no one would see it. This invisible sinister presence was once a highly respected mermaid.  
'Enjoy your peace while it lasts Yami. Your young friend will not leave this place alive,' the mermaid thought. She then disappeared to plot what she would do.  
Yami could feel a sinister presence nearby. But it was gone as soon as it came.  
'I wonder what that sinister presence I felt was. I felt an evil power radiating from whatever or whoever it was. Well, so much for our peace,' Yami thought.  
Yugi saw the distant look on Yami's face. "Is something wrong?" he asked.  
"Wha? I felt an evil presence outside the window. It felt familiar. It's like I know what the presence is," Yami responded.  
"It can't be Erick. Then who could it be?" Joseph said.  
"You don't think it could be Deborah do you?" Lilith, one of the few female officials asked.  
"It very well could be," Yami responded.  
"Who's Deborah?" Yugi and Solomon asked.  
"Deborah was once a highly respected official. She was the best of us when it came to justice. She was everyone's favorite. But something changed her life forever," Lilith said.  
"Could you tell us about it?" Yugi asked.  
"This happened the day Erick became king. Deborah was in the room with my mother and me. Yami's father King Atuken was very sick and was on his last hours of life. Deborah was a highly trained mage. She tried to help him, but nothing she did worked because no one knew what he had. She was determined to give up one more try at a cure and retreated to her chambers. I was curious about what she had in mind, so I went in with her.  
She worked on a potion that would hopefully help King Akuten. What neither she nor any of the officials knew was that Erick had sabotaged the potion by putting part of a coral reef and a seaweed leat in it. Those two things didn't belong in the potion. It would do something that would turn Deborah to the worse.  
When something wrong was put in any potion, there was a great risk that it would become either very deadly, or make the person it will be used on greatly evil for the rest of his/her life. When Deborah mixed in the rest of the ingredients, she put the mixture into a vial. She then raced for the king's room, which was an incident waiting to happen. She unintentionally bumped into Joseph, and the vial got knocked out of her hand.  
It went straight up and came down. The contents spilled all over her. If she hadn't drunk the potion, she would've been fine. But she unintentionally drank half of it. I came over to see if she was all right. When she opened her eyes, I saw a lot of malice in them. She then went into the throne room. I heard a scream.  
I rushed into the room to see Yami's mother badly bleeding on the floor. There was nothing I could do because her wound was too severe. She died almost instantly. I also saw that Yami's father had died from his illness," Lilith responded. "But killing Yami's mother was only the start of Deborah's treachery against the kingdom. Unlike Erick two used magic to kill merfolk, she killed merfolk in cold blood. She also brought destruction to New Atlantis."  
Yugi couldn't find the what to say after hearing the story.  
"Even though Erick got on people's nerves, he did have enough sense to banish Deborah. That was the only thing the other officials backed him up on. They combined their powers to overwhelm Deborah. Then the sent her far away from New Atlantis. A year later, the kingdom had been rebuilt," Yami responded. "But now Deborah's back. I fear that she's after Yugi," he added.  
"You're more powerful than her aren't you?" Solomon asked.  
"Yes Grandpah, I am more powerful than her. But who's more power isn't always a factor. The right strategy can be more effective than whose the most powerful," Yami responded.  
The others nodded. They all knew how true it was. After dinner, everyone retreated to his/her room for the night. Yugi went to sleep in Yami's room.  
"You can sleep in in my room if you want," Joseph offered.  
"Thank you Joseph, I will," Solomon said before following Joseph.  
About an hour later, everyone in the kingdom was asleep for the night Yami firmly wrapped his arms around Yugi, and Yugi snuggled closer to Yami. If anyone wanted to take Yugi tonight, that person would have to pry Yugi from Yami's arms first. Sleep came very uneasy to Yami and Yugi this night. For Yami was uneasy about when Deborah would strike. Yami's adrenaline was so high that he couldn't sleep at all.  
It really wouldn't be of that much help tonight. Deborah was just outside Yami's window, invisible of course. She knew that she would have to act fast. She could see a light on and saw that Yami wasn't asleep. She knew that she would have to make Yami fall asleep in order to steal Yugi away. She had memorized a sleeping spell. The one who it was cast upon would fall into a deep sleep until the next morning.  
'This spell will be perfect for the start of my plan. All to do now is to spread it through the kingdom. Then I'll strike,' Deborah thought. She cast the spell.  
The golden dust flowed through the kingdom and into evey room. Everyone fell into a deeper sleep than previously in Even Yami fell into a deep slumber. The sleeping spell wore off his adrenaline. This left Yugi vulnerable to a kidnapping, and that's exactly what ended up happening. Deborah appeared in Yami's room and quietly disappeared with Yugi.  
The next morning, Yami awakened to the light still on in his room. He didn't feel Yugi in his arms anymore. He looked to see Yugi no longer in the room. He shot out of bed and swam through the kingdom frantically, searching for his brother. He called out Yugi's name but no response was heard.  
"What's wrong my prince," Joseph asked when he caught up to the frantic ruler.  
"Yugi's been kidnapped. He's nowhere in the kingdom," Yami responded.  
"Oh no, do you supposed that Deborah got him?" Lilith asked.  
"That's exactly what I supposed. She must've put some kind of sleep spell over us so we wouldn't do anything," Yami responded. "But now the question is where could Deborah have taken Yugi," he added.  
"That's a good question indeed. Since Deborah's banishment, no one knows where she is now. She can be anywhere in or out of the sea," Lilith said.  
Yami sensed something out of place in the water. He focused his powers to concentrate on the weird feeling in the water. "I think that I just found out where Deborah is," he said.  
"How?" Solomon asked.  
"She was so in a haste to get away that she failed to cover up her magical trail. For you see, all mages leave magical trails. Only people with magical powers can detect a mage's trail. To you or Yugi, the trial would be invisible, but to me, the trail is as clear as day," Yami responsed.  
"He's right Lilith," Joseph said.  
"Yes Joseph, he is," Lilith added. "Deborah must be slipping. She was usually always on to of things like this. She was the best at hiding her trails."  
"Joseph, I want you to come with me. Lilith, you stay here wit the others. I want to be sure that my people are safe in case Deborah might have a secret attack in store," Yami said.  
"Yes my prince," Lilith said bowing before swimming away.  
Yami and Joseph then followed the magical trail. They only hoped to make it to Yugi in time. Meanwhile, Deborah had taken Yugi to a very familiar place. It was the island that he had spent two years on. But Yugi was taken to the most dangerous part of the island. He was tied to a tall tree, bait for some of the most dangerous creatures on the island. These creatures are ones that Yami and Yugi didn't come in contact with yet.  
"Yami will probably be so surprised to find out that I actually took refuge on this island," Deborah said wickedly.  
"How come we never saw you then?" Yugi asked defiantly.  
"I concealed my presence from Yami. He might be a demigod, but my concealing spell can shield me from even his acute magical senses. Now, I'll get my revenge on him since it was he who was responsible for banishing me.  
"How can he be responsible? He told me that it was a group effort to banish you," Yugi said.  
"True the other officials did have a part in my banishment, but he was the one who delivered the final blow to defeat me. They didn't just banish me. I fought them. I would've overpowered them if Yami didn't join the fight. He weakened me enough so I wouldn't cause any more struggles. Your death will be the perfect way to avenge myself," Deborah said before she disappeared.  
Meanwhile, Yami and Joseph were closing in on Deborah's trail. When they came to the place, Yami could barely believe it. It was the island that he was on for 8 years. Joseph saw Yami's look of disbelief.  
"What is it?" Joseph asked.  
"This is the island that I spent 8 years on. I should've been able to detect her. She must've used a spell that even I couldn't penetrate," Yami responded. "But we must find Yugi."  
Joseph nodded. They went ashore on the island and waited for their fins to change. Then they walked through the island. Yami led the way since he still remembered most of the way around the island. An hour later, they came to an unfamiliar area of the island.  
"I've never seen this area of the island before," Yami said.  
"It must be where Deborah is holding Yugi," Joseph added.  
They walked through the unfamiliar part of the island. A few moments later, they found Yugi tied to a tree. Yami started to walk over to Yugi. Yugi panicked because he knew of the trap waiting for Yami.  
"Yami go back! It's a trap!" Yugi shouted.  
Before Yami could react, a Minotaur confronted him. A gorgon, a dragon and a black phoenix soon joined the Minotaur. Then Deborah stepped from in out of a nearby tree's shadow, smirking maliciously.  
"Well Yami, it looks like I surprised you. You never expected that I also inhabited this island," Deborah said.  
"I don't know what you're up to Deborah, but leave Yugi out of this. I'm the one you want," Yami said.  
"You're so right about that. Take him my friends," Deborah said.  
The dangerous creatures then charged for Yami and Joseph. Yami quickly made his way to Yugi. He then broke the ropes with his bare hands. Yugi hugged Yami tightly. Yami returned the hug just as tightly. But he didn't watch his strength again and ended up cutting off Yugi's air supply instead.  
"Yami...I...can't...breathe," Yugi was barely able to get out.  
Yami realized his slip in strength and loosened his grip around Yugi. "I'm sorry Yugi. I wasn't mindful of my own strength again," he said.  
"That's okay. But how are we going to deal with these creatures?" Yugi said.  
"Just watch and learn Yugi," Yami responded. "Joseph, you take the dragon and the Minotaur. The other two are mine," he added.  
"You got it my prince," Joseph said. He was itching for some excitement. He prepared to face the Minotaur and dragon.  
"You won't be able to defeat these creatures. These four are the strongest on the island. You'll be the ones to be defeated," Deborah said.  
"Well Deborah, a gorgon isn't really that strong. After all, her own ability is her weakness. True a person turns to stone by looking at her," Yami began before creating a shield that also acted like a mirror. "But when she looks at her reflection, she turns herself into stone," he finished, watching the gorgon turn into stone after making her look at herself.  
"Well done Yami," Joseph said.  
The phoenix on the other hand had other things in mind. This bird was completely made up of black fire. Even though the fire was black, it was more than hot enough to scorch any ordinary person or creature to ashes. The phoeniex dove for Yugi, hoping to burn him alive. Yami saw the phoenix's intent.  
"Oh no you don't you freak of nature," Yami said. He flew by and scooped up Yugi.  
The black phoenix slammed into the ground as a result, buting a crater into the ground in the process. But that didn't discourage the bird. It rose into the air a few seconds later. It soon hovered in front of Yami and prepared to fire. Meanwhile, Joseph also had things a little easier than expected. The dragon constantly hurled fireball after fireball at Joseph, not really paying attention to its aim. The Minotaur was unfortunate enough to get in the path of one of the fireballs and got killed as a result. Then Yami delivered a strong kick to the dragon's back, and the dragon fell head first into the water, knocking it out.  
"Well Deborah. It looks like your strong creatures are weak in the intelligence department," Joseph said smirking.  
Deborah growled in anger at that insulting remark. "I'll show you just how strong the black phoenix can be when I merge with her," she said. She concentrated her magic and began to fuse with the evil firebird.  
The result of the fuse was a new creature. It was half woman and half phoenix. The creature had a woman's body, but the legs, dark fiery wings and the black fiery aura of the phoenix. The new creature screeched in glory.  
"Now, I'll destroy you Yami. Then your kingdom will be powerless against me," Deborah said.  
"My kingdom will never be powerless against its foes. My family won't allow it," Yami retorted.  
"Let's increase the stakes. This will be a fight for the fate of your kingdom. If you win, your kingdom will remain in its new form of government. But if I win, I become absolute ruler of New Atlantis," Deborah said.  
"I accept Deborah," Yami said.  
"Don't do it Yami," Yugi argued.  
"I have to Yugi. Deborah is diabolical and very dangerous now. It she becomes ruler, the kingdom will be in total chaos. I will not allow that to happen. Joseph, return New Atlantis. This is a fight that I must to alone," Yami said before landing. He put Yugi down and flew back up to face Deborah. 'Deborah made the worst mistake of her life by fusing with the phoenix. I have to get her to fall from into the water. I have no doubt that she's expecting that so I'll have to trick her somehow,' he thought.  
"Yes my prince," Joseph said before leaving.  
"Your demise is at hand," Deborah said. She lunged for Yami, hoping to end the fight in one blow.  
But Yami was too smar to be done it like that. He simply flew up and let Deborah pass under him. "You have to do a lot better than that Deborah. It will take more than a measly lunge to take care of me," he said.  
Deborah screeched in anger and shot a stream of fired from her mouth. This time, Yami spun in place. He spun faster every second. The fire made another stream of fire to cancel out the reflected fire.  
"How were you able to reflect my fire? A phoenix's fire cannot be deflected," Deborah said.  
"Well it obviously can be reflected," Yami retorted.  
Deborah realized that this was going to be a tougher that she thought. 'This guy is tougher than I thought he was. Let's see how tough he is when I include his young friend,' she thought, not knowing that Yugi and Yami were brothers now. She dove after Yugi.  
"Oh no you don't Deborah!" Yami shouted. He also dove after Yugi. Fortunately, he was faster and reached Yugi first. He flew by, scooping up Yugi. Then he found a cliff and flew to it. He placed Yugi on the cliff and then put a force field over Yugi. "This force field will keep you safe from Deborah," he added.  
"What if she tries to destroy the ground underneath me?" Yugi asked.  
"Don't worry about that. If she does destroy the the ground underneath you, you won't fall. I made it so that the force field will keep you in place," Yami responded. He then went back to continue his duel with Deborah. "You leave Yugi out of this. This battle is between you and me," he added.  
"Fine by me Yami. But you will die, and I'll killy your little friend anyway," Deborah said. Then she flapped her wings toward Yami. If she weren't part phoenix, then this would've been a complete waste of Yami's time.  
A fiery wind came from Deborah's wings and headed for Yami. Yami decided to counter this attack. First he dove into the water. Then he went as deep as he could go. Then he flew back up, gaining speed very quickly. When he came out of the water, a waterspout followed him out. The waterspout easily quenched the fiery wind before going back into the water. The water calmed back down a few moments later.  
'What does it take to bring this guy down? What I've done hasn't even phased him so far,' Deborah thought. She then got an idea. She lunged for Yami again.  
Yami was ready to just fly up again when Deborah suddenly breathed fire. Then she stopped and used her fiery wind again. The result was that the stream of fire gained strength and speed. Now the stream of fire rocketed towards Yami at incredible speed. Yami fired an energy beam from his mouth and cancelled out the attack.  
'That was a close one. She really caught me off guard with that one,' Yami thought. 'I better stay focused or else she might catch me off guard the next time.' He dove back into the water and created the waterspout.  
This time, the waterspout headed for Deborah. Deborah screamed and tried to get away from the spinning column of water. She got another idea. She gained speed. The fiery aura around her got stronger as she gained more speed. She turned around and rocketed towards the water. The fiery aura around her, greatly fueled by her increased speed, evaporated the water.  
'Drat the luck. He almost got me with that. I have to be more alert,' Deborah thought. "I have to admit Yami. That was clever, but you'll have to be more clever than that," she said.  
"Oh I intend to be you freak of nature," Yami retorted.  
Deborah screeched in anger and lunged for Yami in anger. Yami was able to notice Deborah's anger. The fiery aura around her had turned completely red. He flew up to avoid her lunge. Deborah lunged for him again because she was still angry. Yami sidestepped the lunge this time. But it gave him an idea.  
'Her anger appears to have blinded her. Maybe I can use that to my advantage,' Yami thought. "I've seen children make better lunges than that," he said.  
Deborah was furious now. She streamed towards Yami now. Yami flew up to avoid her, but he also gave her an energy kick. His foot was covered in pure energy before he flew up to avoid her, and he kicked her as soon as she passed under him. Deborah flew into the side of the cliff. She looked up and saw Yugi inside a force field.  
"Well Yami, it looks like I'll have the last laugh," she said before she lunged at the side of the wall beneath Yugi's feet. She was very surprised when Yugi didn't fall from under the force field but was instead in midair with the force field still around him. "What is this?" she asked.  
"Yami knew that you would try to make me from underneath the force field. So he created the force field to go underground a little bit. He also said that it would float in midair," Yugi responded.  
"In other words, it's just you and me. I will never ley you harm Yugi fire brains," Yami said.  
That comment infuriated Deborah once again. She breathed fire as she lunged for Yami. "I'll make you pay for that comment," she said angrily.  
"The only thing you'll pay for is your crimes against my people," Yami said. He brought out his arms, and an ice circle from around hm.  
It is known that ice melts in fire, but the circle that Yami created had a temperature of -25 degrees F. This meant that the circle would be more that cold enough to quence the fire. When the two attacks collided, the ice circle turned the stream of fire into smoke. But the ice circle was still fully in tact and slammed into Deborah. Deborah screamed in pain when the very cold attack collided with her. She quickly increased the fiery aura's heat. This time, she was very luckly to survive this attack. However, the ice attack had considerably weakened her. She was barely able to still be in the air. Yami noticed this and quickly got an idea.  
"Let's see if you can catch me you fiery-headed slowpoke," Yami said defiantly.  
Deborah's eyes went completly red upon hearing that. She flew at Yami with all the strength she had left. Yami grinned and flew away. He flew fast enough to stay ahead of Deborah, but not at his maximum speed. He knew that he would've left Deborah in the dust if he flew at his maximum speed now. He led Deborah over the open water. Deborah was too angry at Yami's last comment to realize that she was moving farther away from safety.  
'I'll burn that smart-mouth to ashes. Then New Atlantis will be mine,' she thought. She didn't even register herself getting weaker the longer she chased Yami. Then she made a crucial mistake. She breathed fire at Yami, but she put all the energy she had left into it. Yami dodged the stream of fire. Deborah immediately realized her mistake when she plummeted from the sky. She screamed in horror when she looked down. All she saw was open water. She looked at Yami to see him just hovering there looking at her. She splashed into the water, dying instantly.  
'That was for all the treason you caused in my kingdom, especially killing innocent people in cold blood. Now their deaths are finally avenged,' Yami thought. He flew back to where he left Yugi.  
"You did it Yami," Yugi said before Yami took the force field from around him. He fell into Yami's arms. He saw that Yami was a little puzzled. "What's wrong Yami?" he asked.  
"After all these years my mother's death as well as the death of many others that Deborah has caused has finally been avenged," Yami responded.  
"How does it feel?" Yugi asked.  
"It feels like a large burden has just been lifted off my shoulders," Yami responded smiling. He flew over the water and then dove in. He swam for New Atlantis.  
The people cheered upon seeing him and Yugi. Joseph had told them what happened.  
"It's good to see you back. I assume that you were victorious in your battle," Lilith said.  
"Yes. Deborah is dead, and the kingdom is safe once again," Yami responded. He looked to the slumbering Yugi in his arms. "Well, I better get my little brother here to bed. All the excitement today must've worn him out," he added before going to his room.  
"There'll be a lot more opportunities to have fun. I don't think that a threat to the kingdom is going to rise anytime soon," Yami said.  
The others nodded. They knew that he was right. Erick and Deborah were the worst threats that the kingdom had ever had. Now that both of them fell to their demise, the kingdom would be peaceful again. With Yugi and Solomon staying in New Atlantis, that's just the people wanted things to be.  
  
Well, here's the end to chapter 4. I really want to thank Latias and Dark Latias for their support. As soon as I got your reviews, it inspired me to continue and get this chapter finished. For some other reviewers who seem to have a problem with this story, I'm sorry that you don't like it but I'm not going to change another thing. I clearly stated what I intended to do in chapter one. If you don't like this story, just don't read. It's that simple. That way, you won't be wasting your or my time. Preview for Chapter 5: A Peaceful Time: Now that the threats to New Atlantis are no longer in existence, peace has set throughout the kingdom. This chapter will basically be a break from trouble as Yugi continues to enjoy his stay in New Atlantis.  
  
To those wondering why Deborah was taken care of so quickly, she's a very minor character in my story. The worst danger will be on land in this story, not from beneath the sea. You'll see what I mean by that starting with chapter 6.  
  
Oh, one more thing. I have completed two chapters to two different stories. One is the next chapter of The Power of Love for you YGO readers, and the second is a to a brand new story that I titled Digimon 03: The Power of One, based on the Tamers for you Digimon readers. I'll be posting them up before the end of the week because I will be going with my parents to Las Vegas on Saturday and will be gone for a full week.   
  
That's all for now. 


End file.
